CHRONICLEWATCH UPDATE / Working for a better Bay Area

Suzanne Pullen

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, August 13, 2005

UPDATE

I-880 median screens flapping -- again: A mile of median glare screens along Oakland's Interstate 880 is back in ChronicleWatch, despite removal of sections of them this year. In February, ChronicleWatch contacted Caltrans about a series of broken and dangling metal screens on I-880, between 66th Avenue and Hegenberger Road, after tipster Kenyon Wills told us they had become an "unmanaged, flopping, flesh-eating trap." Wills, a motorcyclist, said he has almost been hit by them on occasions when he has had to swerve onto the median shoulder. Caltrans spokeswoman Gidget Navarro told us the screens were designed to deflect glare from oncoming headlights. The transportation agency no longer uses that style of screen, she said, and removes them when they become damaged. After our call, Caltrans crews removed the mangled sections of screen, but Navarro said the rest were left up -- including the ones that were sagging -- because they were still a benefit to drivers. When we received a complaint recently about the problem from another tipster, we decided to revisit the problem. After our call earlier this month, crews removed an additional 210 feet of screens, but this week ChronicleWatch still found damaged screens. Navarro said a supervisor will look into the situation and determine if anything else should be done. We'll report back when we learn more. -- Who's responsible: Bijan Sartipi, Caltrans District 4 director; (510) 286- 5900; bijan_sartipi@dot.ca.gov